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The fluidyne radiator is advertised for the E36 6 cyl cars.. The manufacturer thinks the size is an almost sure thing for the M Coupe. But the Hose size is a question. Fluidyne thinks our inlet and outlet are 1 5/8", The radiator has 1 1/2" fittings.

Looking at the parts list I see the drivers side hose is the same p/n as the M3. But the passenger side is different.

The coupling flange (the part that holds thermostat/ is plastic and many of us replace this part with the alumnium one) is the same p/n for both M3 and M coupe ( 11-53-1-722-531) , so I would think the hose sizes must be the same on both cars.

This radiator would be a nice replacement for ours when they die and also would surely lower the temp some.

Is there a drain plug on the bottom of the radiator(s)? A temperature sensor could be installed there temporarily or pemanantly.

An infrared temp gun is useful to see the temperature change as the coolant flows through the core (I've used them to identify blockages in stationary engine cooling systems). It would be hard to do comparison tests on different radiators though under varying conditions.

Is there a drain plug on the bottom of the radiator(s)? A temperature sensor could be installed there temporarily or pemanantly.

An infrared temp gun is useful to see the temperature change as the coolant flows through the core (I've used them to identify blockages in stationary engine cooling systems). It would be hard to do comparison tests on different radiators though under varying conditions.

The Fluidyne has all the same connections as the stock one. I just received it! Very nice work. There appear to be all the same threaded connections as the factory unit.

I understand the water temp gauge in our cars is some kind of computer analyzed generalization, rather that a linear reading. This is why I thought of using a gauge with actual degreed readings would be good to get some sort of baseline.